So I am lucky enough to be apart of this go around of the Edible Word. Co- hosted by Cath of A Blithe Palate and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness. Last time we reviewed a cookbook, which of course I loved, but this time the book was well, more book than recipes. Which I was so happy about. I am always looking for books to read. My buddy Cookie Baker Lynn keeps me in books from time to time, and of course, I was in a book (shameless self promotion), but I was running out of things to read.
Then along came “Confections of a Closet Master Baker” by Gesine Bullock-Prado. I puffy heart this book. It was a quick read and a good one. I think it is a must read for those who are considering a career change in life to the world of baking. This is Gesine’s memoir of going from her mundane life in LA to becoming a baker in VT.
Now the idea was for us to create a recipe inspired by the book. I love this idea, seriously, what fun! There was a chapter that I identified with very much so in the book. Ironically, I identified in the opposite way of the author. She grew up in what one would call a uber healthy household. You know the house. You probably had one in your neighborhood. The one where they had no sugar in the house, and prunes were considered…nature’s candy (no, that would be nature’s laxative!). And even worse, they gave you raisins at Halloween (also nature’s candy). The chapter was about her enjoying the contraband that her friend Stacy Coleman ( the enabler she is) introduced her to. The Coleman’s pretty much were my family…in the food sense that is.
I lived in the house of contraband. The house of sugared cereals (that the neighborkid was not allowed to eat…my mom didn’t know this though). House of candy (usually Brach’s pick a mix), cookies (both homemade and store bought), cake, cinnamon rolls, chips, soda, etc…, every dentists nightmare. Now before my mother comes at yells at us, we did get healthy-ish meals for our main meals. But we did have the junk. Oh we had the junk.
Since the chapter is called Ode to the Oreo. It got me thinking about the contraband I grew up with. Now I know I am going a little Sandra Lee with this one and duh, these are not hard to make, but darn it all they are tasty. I always make Peanut Butter Captain Crunch Marshmallow Treats for when I go to book club. This time I decided to add two of the contraband items together. Cocoa Krispies and Oreo cookies. Um. Wow, who knew these would turn out soooo good.
So if you aspire to become a master baker, or just want a fun foodie read, this is your book.
Oreo-Cocoa Krispies Treats
3 TBSP unsalted butter
10 ounces mini marshmallows (fresh, not the stale ones hiding in the back of your pantry that you forgot about)
4 cups Cocoa Krispies Cereal
3 cups roughly crushed but not pulverized Oreo cookies
Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan. Or be lazy like me and spray it with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
Over low heat melt 3 TBSP in a large pot (I like to use my stock pot because I am a messy person).
Once butter has melted, add marshmallows. Continue to cook over low heat while they melt. It may take a little time. Don’t turn up the heat to try and make it go quicker, you could end up with burned marshmallows or your treats could end up too hard once they firm up.
When most of the marshmallows have melted and they resemble marshmallow crème with a few lumps, remove from heat and add the cereal and cookies.
Using a wooden spoon, stir, stir, stir some more, until all the cereal is fully coated and other parts of the pot are not hogging all the marshmallows (so evenly coated).
Pour into prepared baking pan. Take a rubber spatula and either spray it with non-stick spray or simply get some water on it (I just put mine under the faucet real quick). Using the spatula, press the cereal/marshmallow mixture down into the pan, attempting to create a flat, even surface.
Cover with foil and let sit for a few hours to firm up.
Take foil off. Place wax paper down that is a little bit longer than the baking pan. Flip the pan over onto the wax paper. Cut into squares. Some would say 2-inch. But whatever size you would like works. You can also use cookie cutters to make them fun shaped.
Sam@BingeNYC says
WOW – i want this. Now. Looks incredible!
Natalie says
These look fantastic and sinful. I would have a hard time keeping portion control in mind while enjoying these!
Victoria says
Holy smokes, those look good! And I’m definitely going to have to find that book. 🙂
VeggieGirl says
Haha, love it that your house was full of the contraband sugary cereals 😉
You are WORLDS better than Sandra Lee, no worries – love the “Ode to Oreo” tribute with the bars!!
Sarah says
great pairing!
ashlee says
yum! these combine my favorite cookie and bake sale treat in one! and cocoa krispies are so much better than rice krispies!
the projectivist says
that was a pleasure to read – great story!
cheffresco says
What?!? How awesome is this recipe! My sister and I used to love making rice krispie treats. These just take it to a whole other level!
Mimi says
I love rice crispies treats, yours look so good!!
Thanks for the book review. After concocting a wonderful dessert yesterday, I was fantasizing about just such a career change. I may need to check this out for a good read!
Cara says
YUM! The bakery in college (located in the basement…bad news!) sold these once a week and we looooved them. I will have to try them again with your recipe!
mellisa w says
You are evil, but in a good way. Guess I will be going to the store tomorrow.
Sarah says
These look AMAZING!!! I’ll have to add them to my crispie-treat file!!
Sometimes, I crave a dessert like this, but the ‘plain’ ones just won’t do, so I came up with two variations that are always a huge hit, maybe you’ll like them…
One is my white chocolate raspberry treats. I to either make a double batch of the cereal/marshmallow mixture or pour it into a smaller pan, so I have 2 layers… into the mixture I add white chocolate chips while its still warm. I add a layer into the pan, slather on some raspberry jam, then pour and flatten a second layer of cereal/marshmallow on top. Yum!
The second is Coffee/Toffee… I add instant coffee to the marshmallows while melting them, then before pouring mixture into the pan I add some crushed heath bar. Double yum!
Sorry if I’ve shared too much… I just love your recipe and thought you might enjoy mine too 🙂
patsyk says
I’m adding this book to my reading list based on your post! Sounds like something I’d love.
noobcook says
This is such a nice creation ^^
Joelen says
Why couldn’t they have had this version of rice krispie treats when I was growing up?! This is just so… yummm.
nina says
A very interesting take on the classic rice-krispie cookie!!!
Gala says
Woooooooow! that sounds insanely delicious!!!
Julia @ Mélanger says
Thank you for sharing this book with us. I have already made a bee-line for Amazon and put it on my wishlist. It seems just the story I want to read for some baking inspiration.
Rosa says
That books sounds interesting and those bars look incredibly “dirty”! Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
Kristin says
Ok, I WILL eat marshmallows in THIS form. Gee, I’ll try fresh marshmallows next time. Maybe they melt better than the old stale ones that slide around & around the saucepan with their crusty edges bumping off the sides & not melting.
Amy says
Yum! These look really good. I had to laugh at your post… sadly, I was apart of one of those healthy families. Just in time for my birth, my mom hopped on the 80s health-food craze. There are still tons of cereals I’ve never had, including captain crunch and cocoa krispies! Oh well.
Dawn says
Those look sinful, and I’m now wishing I was having cocoa crispies or lucky charms instead of peaches for breakfast. Thanks for sharing though. I’ll have to look into that book.
Estie says
Time to go buy some cocoa krispies-my kids will l.o.v.e. these!!
Erika says
Those are sooo easy to make – and sound so yummy. I’ll be trying these out on co-workers. They’ll eat anything, so these should be gone in about 2 seconds.
Dorothy says
Hahaha, raisins for Halloween! When I was a kid there was a lady who gave out raisins too, and I was like wtf? Okay, maybe not “wtf” back then, but we still didn’t eat them. Not that I didn’t love raisins, because I did (still do). Those mini boxes aren’t sealed in plastic, so the grown folks made us throw them away!
I’m glad I didn’t grow up in a healthy household 😀
Katie says
Ooo! mmm… I’m totally going to try this with chocolate marshmallows and chocolate filled oreos…
You can never have too much chocolate, right?
Lynn says
Oh, no, my favorite culinary evil genius has struck again! How am I to resist?
PS – Let me know if you need more reads. 🙂
CakeSpy says
Holy yum, these look amazing. These are seriously the winner of the cereal treat wars. YES!
Megan says
How did you know I was contemplating using the old, stale bag of marshmallows at the back of the baking cupboard? 😉
These look fabulous—a must-make for a long weekend of backyard picnics. Thanks!
Nicole says
Those look great. I’ll have to get that book (it looks like it will be in bookstores next week). I’m getting low on my pile of books to read. Thanks for the recommendation!
Kristen says
Wow. Those look insanely good. And I don’t even like Rice Krispie treats.
That book sounds good, too. It’s on the “library list” on Amazon already. 🙂
Katrina says
Ooh yum! And the scary thing is, I have all the things right now to make those!
Rose says
Oh my…What a great idea. I love oreos and I love rice krispy treats, but at last together as one. I kind of wish I had not seen this :$
Kerstin says
Oreo rice krispy treats sound delicious! It’s weird, I’ll sometimes get a craving for RKTs and have to go to the store right away to get everything for them!
Elle says
If I enjoyed marshmallows I’m sure I would heart these, too.
Am reading the Julie/Julia book now that I’ve seen the movie. For a blogger, the book is much better…more about blogging than the movie. You could add it to your list…I found it at Costco 🙂
Laura says
Nearly every time I visit your blog (which is pretty much all the time), I find another recipe to add to my “to make” list, or an inspiration to put on my “creation ideas” list…and now a book for my “to read” list! Your blog is dangerous, dear Peabody. At this rate I’ll need another lifetime just to get through my lists! 🙂
Felice says
Peabody, once again you have hit it out of the ballpark. These look so good.
Di says
Wow, I can just imagine what my girls would think of your treats. I’ve made them with Cocoa Krispies before, but never would have thought to add the Oreos. Yum. And I’m definitely going to look for the book when it comes out on Tuesday.
Holly says
I loved your review! I don’t think you needed to add a thing. Those crispy treats look soooo yummy (and something I could handle getting in the kitchen for right now!)
~jessica says
I made these yesterday, and we ate a few before bringing them along to a cookout, and it’s a good thing we did! They went pretty fast! They were amazing!
Julia M. says
They would go crazy for these at work… I’ll have to try this recipe out soon. Thanks for book suggestion too, will check it out.
dawn says
don’t you just love the versatility of rice krispy treats? man oh man I must try these, and soon.
CookiePie says
Oh, YES PLEASE!!! I was wondering what to make for a picnic tomorrow, now I know!!
Elle says
Dear Peabody, this excellent creative recipe for marshmallow treats (if you like ’em) and things like the photo with the marshmallow on fire are examples of why I have awarded you the Kreative Bloggers award. Not sure how to do a link in comments, so come on over to my blog and see what it is all about and pick up your badge.
Alexandra says
Oh god this looks so friggin good.
pity says
i love the combination of flavours, it looks so yummy! it looks delicious,
cheers from london,
pity
Jill says
I spray my hands with Pam and then use them to spread the rice krispies out… maybe not as fancy as spraying a spatula. But gets the job done.
I so want to make these chocolate ones!
Cakelaw says
Sounds like a great book. Raisins for Halloween – ewwww! Oreo-rice krispie treats sound marvellously decadent – perfect for settling down with a coffee and a book.
ingrid says
Hi, I made a variation of these on Sunday for a bunch of 13 yr old boys spending the night. They LOVED ’em! All the boys asked how’d I make ’em so they could tell their moms. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
~ingrid
Margaret says
Sounds like a great book. I grew up in the healthy cereal house too – I was that kid who actually liked grapenuts.
Eliana says
I want to eat these through my monitor right now (and I’ve just put the book on my amazon wishlist).
Sarah says
i’m totally digging on your book suggestions! and i’m drooling over these treats 🙂
breadchick says
If this is the result, you can go all Sandra Lee you want to! These sound unreal, Peabody.
Delanl says
Love your blog, its one of my favorites. Besides baking I’m also waaaaay to up on the celebrity gossip and I believe those are the memoirs of Sandra Bullock’s sister. 🙂
Happy Baking!
Peabody says
Delanl- yep, she is Sandra Bullock’s sister. But I didn’t mention it because I want people to read the book on it’s food merit. There isn’t gossip in the book. But you get a sense of how much they love each other as sisters. Makes me like Bullock even more.
ingrid says
Hello, I sorta made this last weekend and it was a HIT with the “boys”! 🙂 I was looked at in awe after they took their first bite!
~ingrid
Jill Be says
Added it to my book wish-list. That thing is getting pretty hefty.
Amy says
I made these the other day and they were an instant hit. I accidentally bought chocolate sandwich cookies so they were super chocolate-y and delicious. Thanks for the great recipe.
Jill says
I grew up in a household of contraband too. Wasn’t it awesome?
And wow, that recipe looks good. My husband is a huge Oreo fan so I may need to surprise him with a pan of these!
lynn@queenofthecastlerecipes says
The book sounds wonderful, and so do the treats 🙂 Great post.
Lindsay says
Made this for my nephews. They were happy and hyper and wanting more. Okay, and so was I. Delicious and quick and easy. Thank you!
Kristine says
Thanks for posting, they were very good! I made them for my step-sons and they loved them.
MissKacey says
These were delicious! I made them as a bribe for my guy friend to help me move (everyone’s favorite thing). Needless to say I think he’ll always want to help out with the heavy lifting if I keep bribing him with these!!
Amy says
I have to tell you I have made these multiple times and always to rave reviews, I love this recipe.